Skip was his nickname and some of his closer friends were Bob Didlock, Jim Currie, and Joe Probst. Skip and Bob did many camping and hunting trips together. He played the banjo quite well and he and Bob were both heavy into Folk Music.

Skip went to Long Beach State in 1962. He majored in Micro Biology and graduated in 1966. He got married, they had a child, then he moved to Rockport, Massachusetts, working for a fish company.